President Bola Tinubu has congratulated the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Saturday’s Edo State governorship election, Senator Monday Okpebholo, on his victory at the polls.
Okpebholo was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday, having defeated other contenders for the position.
He polled 291,667 votes. His closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) polled 247,274 votes, while the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Olumide Akpata polled 22,763 in the final results announced on Sunday.
The president commended the APC national leaders, Edo State leaders, and party governors for working hard to achieve victory in the fiercely contested governorship election. He stated that the victory testified to the people’s support for the ruling party, its progressive ideals, economic reengineering programme and commitment to improving the lives of Nigerians.
He urges the governor-elect not to gloat over his victory but to see it as a challenging call to service. He encouraged him to demonstrate magnanimity by reaching out to his political rivals and uniting the people of Edo State to ensure its development.
President Tinubu also praised other candidates who participated in the election for their contributions to advancing Nigeria’s democracy, saying “peaceful political contests, such as the one on Saturday, portray Nigeria as a stable democracy.”
While commending the people of Edo State for their orderly and peaceful conduct during the election, which he noted underscores the maturing of Nigeria’s democracy after 25 years, urged all those aggrieved by the election outcome to seek redress through the legal channels.
“I commend the INEC and our security agencies for working round the clock to conduct a successful, peaceful and largely hitch-free exercise. INEC has once again demonstrated that it is committed to organising a free and fair election in our country,” President Tinubu said in a statement released by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
